Bernardo Corradi

Bernardo Corradi (Italian pronunciation: [berˈnardo korˈraːdi]; born 30 March 1976) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward. He played top-division football for several teams in Italy, Spain, and England, and last played for Canadian side Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer in 2012.

Bernardo Corradi
Corradi in 2008, while at Reggina
Personal information
Date of birth (1976-03-30) 30 March 1976
Place of birth Siena, Italy
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Youth career
Siena
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1996 Poggibonsi 47 (9)
1996–1997 Ponsacco 31 (6)
1997–2000 Cagliari 22 (0)
1997–1998 → Montevarchi (loan) 26 (5)
1998–1999 → Fidelis Andria (loan) 31 (7)
2000–2002 Chievo 68 (22)
2002 Inter Milan 0 (0)
2002–2004 Lazio 64 (20)
2004–2006 Valencia 21 (3)
2005–2006 → Parma (loan) 36 (10)
2006–2008 Manchester City 25 (3)
2007–2008 → Parma (loan) 27 (5)
2008–2009 Reggina 30 (10)
2009–2011 Udinese 37 (1)
2012 Montreal Impact 11 (4)
Total 476 (105)
National team
2003–2004 Italy 13 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He is also a former Italian international, with 13 caps and two goals from 2003 to 2004. Corradi represented his country at UEFA Euro 2004.

Club career

Early career

Corradi began his career in Italy with Siena, at that time at Serie C1. He then left for U.S. Poggibonsi of Serie C2. He played there for two seasons, one in Serie C2 and the second in Serie D. In 1996, he left for Serie C2 club A.S.D. Mobilieri Ponsacco Calcio, also located in Tuscany. In mid-1997, he joined Cagliari of Sardinia, and after two matches, he was loaned to Montevarchi in November. In the next season, he was loaned to Andria. In 1999, he returned to Cagliari and played his first Serie A match.

Chievo and Inter Milan

In 2000, Corradi was jointly signed by Chievo and Inter Milan. Using his height as ability, he started showing his talent as central forward and scored his first Serie A goal at Chievo. He stayed at the club for two seasons, until Inter paid €4 million to purchase him outright.[1]

Considered the ideal understudy to Christian Vieri, he played his first and only match for Inter against Sporting Clube de Portugal. After Ronaldo left the club for Real Madrid, Inter signed Lazio's Hernán Crespo, and sent Corradi in the opposite direction as part of the deal,[2] in which Crespo was valued at €38 million and Corradi at €12 million.[3] Lazio later brought down Corradi's value to €5.5 million[4] and the rest deferred to amortize in a 10-year special amortization fund.

Lazio

At Lazio, Corradi scored on his debut, and formed a strike partnership with Claudio López, while Enrico Chiesa and Simone Inzaghi played as substitutes. He was offered a contract extension in July 2003.[5] In the second season, he was the first choice, and partnered with Roberto Muzzi, Lopez or Inzaghi. Corradi scored ten goals in both his league seasons with the club, and also scored a vital away goal when Lazio beat Juventus to the 2004 Coppa Italia title.

Valencia

Corradi signed for Valencia in the summer of 2004, along with Lazio teammate Stefano Fiore, in a deal which also repaid unpaid transfer fees (€16.6 million) incurred when Gaizka Mendieta moved from Valencia to Lazio for €42 million, while Corradi was valued at €10 million.[6][7] Corradi opened his season with the Spanish club by winning the UEFA Supercup. However, once compatriot coach Claudio Ranieri left the club, he found his first team appearances becoming less frequent, as he fell out of form. He was loaned back to Italy, playing for Parma for the 2005–06 season, in which he scored ten times in 36 appearances.

Manchester City

In the 2006 close season he was sold by Valencia to Manchester City for an undisclosed fee on 20 July, signing a three-year contract with the Premier League club.[8]

Corradi made his Manchester City debut in the opening match of the 2006–07 Premier League season against Chelsea, but was sent off after receiving a second yellow card due to his reaction to an incident involving Michael Essien.[9] It took Corradi until his 13th Manchester City appearance before he scored his first goals for the club, when he scored twice against Fulham on 18 November 2006,[10] becoming the first Italian to score for the club. In December Corradi was again sent off for two yellow cards, this time against Manchester United, with the second for attempting to win a penalty by diving. The sending off in the Manchester Derby infuriated Stuart Pearce, who believed it was justified.[11]

Corradi lost his starting place to Emile Mpenza, as he only scored three league goals during the 2006–07 season, his other goal coming in a defeat to Portsmouth in February.[12] Corradi looked to be leaving Manchester City after his poor season. When Sven-Göran Eriksson was appointed as their new manager, Corradi was given a chance to impress and took it well by scoring four goals in the pre-season of 2007. However, he did not feature in any of their Premier League or League Cup games and was subsequently loaned out again to Parma for the rest of the season.

Corradi impressed during his first couple of appearances for his new club, but again got himself into disciplinary problems, when he was sent off in the first half, during a match with Roma. He finished with a tally of 5 goals in 15 starts, and was given the captain's armband.

Reggina and Udinese

On 30 July 2008, Manchester City confirmed that Corradi had been released from the final year of his contract, to return to Italy, and play for Reggina. On 31 May 2009, they terminated his contract with them.[13]

On 3 July, he was signed for free by Udinese,[14] who played him mainly as a substitute.

Montreal Impact

Corradi made his Impact debut in a 1–0 pre-season exhibition victory over BK Häcken of Sweden on 3 March 2012.[15] He replaced Justin Mapp to start the second half, and played out the final 45 minutes of the match.[16] On 15 March 2012, the Montreal Impact announced that he had signed for three months with the option to extend.[17] He recorded his first MLS goal on 14 April in the 61st minute against FC Dallas with a penalty kick.

Corradi was released by Montreal on 7 December 2012.[18]

International career

Corradi won a total of 13 caps for Italy between 2003 and 2004, scoring two goals.[19] He was considered as a replacement for Christian Vieri when he was first called up to the national team under Giovanni Trapattoni in February 2003;[20] he debuted on 12 February, scoring the only goal of the match in a 1–0 friendly home win over Portugal.[21] He was later included in their Euro 2004 squad, making one appearance throughout the tournament in his nation's 2–1 win over Bulgaria in their final group match, although Italy were eliminated in the first round on head-to-head record, despite not losing a match, following a three-way five-point tie with Denmark and Sweden.[19][22]

Along with Valencia teammate Marco Di Vaio, he was played up front by new Italy national football team coach Marcello Lippi in the first few matches of qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in late 2004.[19] After the rise of Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino, while Corradi struggled at Valencia, he did not receive an international call-up again.[19]

Style of play

Often described as an "old-fashioned" centre-forward in the Italian media, Corradi was a tall, powerful, and physically strong striker, with an eye for goal, who excelled in the air; he was also known for his work-rate off the ball, and his ability to press defenders in order to help his team win back possession. During his prime, his playing style drew comparisons with that of Pierluigi Casiraghi.[23][24]

Television career

Bernardo Corradi (in couple[25] with the dancer Stefano De Martino) in May–June 2017 is one of the tutors/mentors[25] in the second season of Selfie – Le cose cambiano, a talent show produced by Fascino PGT[26] of Maria De Filippi and aired by Canale 5 with Simona Ventura as presenter.[25][26]

Personal life

In June 2014, Corradi married the Italian model Elena Santarelli.[27]

Career statistics

Club
ClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
ItalyLeagueCoppa Italia—EuropeOtherTotal
Poggibonsi1994–95Serie C216100———161
1995–96Serie D31800——318
Ponsacco1996–97Serie C231600——316
Cagliari1997–98Serie B2030——50
Montevarchi1997–98Serie C126500——265
Fidelis Andria1998–99Serie B31721——338
Cagliari1999–2000Serie A20032——232
Chievo2000–01Serie B361200——3612
2001–02Serie A321030——3510
Inter Milan2002–03000010—10
Lazio321040——3610
2003–0432106181—4612
SpainLeagueCopa del Rey—EuropeOtherTotal
Valencia2004–05La Liga21300—9121325
ItalyLeagueCoppa Italia—EuropeOtherTotal
Parma2005–06Serie A351030———3810
EnglandLeagueFA CupLeague CupEuropeOtherTotal
Manchester City2006–07Premier League2533010——293
ItalyLeagueCoppa Italia—EuropeOtherTotal
Parma2007–08Serie A27500———275
Reggina2008–09301011——3111
Udinese2009–1010000——100
CanadaLeagueCanadian ChampionshipMLS PlayoffsNorth AmericaOtherTotal
Montreal Impact2012MLS114200000—114
Career totalsItaly39194255—9100425100
Spain21300—9121325
England25330100000293
Canada114200000—134
Career statistics4481043051018221499112

International
Italy national team
YearAppsGoals
200372
200460
Total132

International appearances and goals

Honours

Club

Valencia[28]

Lazio[29]

References
  1. "CORRADI CO-OWNERSHIP SITUATION RESOLVED IN INTER'S FAVOUR". inter.it. 25 June 2002. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  2. "NUMBER NINE SHIRT TO CRESPO. THE ARGENTINE WILL BE OFFICIALLY PRESENTED ON SUNDAY 1 SEPTEMBER". inter.it. 1 September 2002. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  3. "PROGETTO DI BILANCIO AL 30 GIUGNO 2003 (part 3)" (PDF). SS Lazio (in Italian). Borsa Italiana Archive. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  4. "PROGETTO DI BILANCIO AL 30 GIUGNO 2003 (part 1)" (PDF). SS Lazio (in Italian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  5. "Lazio get more of Mendieta". UEFA. 17 July 2003. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  6. "relazione trimestrale al 30.09.05". SS Lazio (in Italian). 11 November 2005. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  7. "Valencia calls for Lazio duo". UEFA. 1 July 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  8. "City confirm Corradi deal". Manchester City official website. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2007.
  9. "Chelsea 3 City 0". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 25 March 2007.
  10. "Man City 3–1 Fulham". BBC. 18 November 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  11. Taylor, Daniel (11 December 2006). "Fear factor helps United back to intoxicating best". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  12. "Portsmouth 2–1 Man City". BBC. 10 February 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  14. Archived 6 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  15. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/03/03/former-serie-forward-makes-his-debut-montreal Former Serie A forward makes his debut for Montreal
  16. http://www.impactmontreal.com/en/news/2012/03/impact-beats-bk-h%C3%A4cken-1-0-preseason-orlando Impact beats BK Häcken 1–0
  17. http://www.impactmontreal.com/en/news/2012/03/impact-signs-italian-striker-bernardo-corradi
  18. http://www.impactmontreal.com/en/news/2012/12/impact-exercises-2013-options-11-players
  19. "Corradi, Bernardo" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  20. Stefano Petrucci; Ernesto Menicucci; Pietro Pinelli (11 February 2003). "Pelizzoli-Corradi, la nazionale allontana il derby". Corriere della Sera. p. 55. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  21. "Rete di Corradi l'Italia torna alla vittoria" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 12 February 2003. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  22. "Dentro Di Vaio, fuori Gilardino Ecco i 23 azzurri per Euro2004" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 18 May 2004. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  23. "Corradi: "Io, il nuovo Casiraghi"" (in Italian). digilander.libero.it. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  24. Sebastiano Vernazza (15 April 2019). "Chievo, ciao Serie A. La nostra Top Undici gialloblù" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  27. Stefania Saltalamacchia (3 June 2014). "Le nozze di Elena Santarelli e Bernardo Corradi" (in Italian). Vanity Fair. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  28. "B. Corradi". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  29. "Bernardo Corradi". Eurosport. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
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